Fountain toothbrush



Oct. 20, 1959 J. REITKNECHT 2,908,925

FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 20, 1958 Jack Reifknechf INVENTORY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Jae/r Reiflrnechf BY 24w Fig.3

J REITKNECHT FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Oct. 20, 1959 Flled Aug 20 1958 FOUNTAIN- roo rHBRUsn .Jaek. Reitknecht, New York, N.Y.. Application August 20, 1958, Serial No. 756,107 qz Qlaims. =(Cl.1151137) This invention relates to toothbrushes and more particularly to a fountain toothbrush.

-A-n-objet of the invention is to provide a novel, pracof bristles extend. A short shank 33 is curved and ex- ,t'ends from the backing. There is a threaded end 34 of the shank which is adapted to fit in the threaded bore 35f after removing plug 33') of-the part '27 of the toothbrush so that the head .is separably carried by the handle and canbe. removed and replaced for any reason what soever. Bushing '36.."is at the'bottom of bore 35 and is engaged by the end ofthe threaded part of shank 34 in order to form .a seal.

"Passageway .37 extends through backing 31 and shank 33 and has a continuation 38 of the passageway formed details of construct-ion and operation asrnorefull-y' here- I more described andclairned, reference'being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to, like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is, a perspective. view of a group of toothbrushes constructed in accordance with the invention; A Figure 2 i's a perspective view ofone of the brushes in Figure l. j i Figure B'lis an exploded perspective view showing the fountain toothbrush and its closure cap. 3 Figure 4"=i s a "longitudinal sectional view of ,the toothbrush in Figure igure 5- a transverse sectionaltview taken on. the of Figure4. 7

:Figu're (tii's a transverse sectional view taken' on the Figure k i 1 Figure 7? is a transverse sectional-view taleenkon the line 77 of Figure. 4,.

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view show ng hevt ot naste .dis harseznozzle in thehead of theatoo h rt lfi g t I Figure 9 is a fragmentary perspective View of the piston in the toothbrush.

Figure 10 is an enlarged sectional view showing the toothpaste filler opening in the toothbrush handle.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of a portion of the toothbrush.

In the accompanying drawings there is a group of toothbrushes 11, 12, 13 and 14, each neatly hung on a rack 15 that is adapted to be fastened to any supporting surface by conventional fasteners, for instance suction cups 16 and 17. The rack has a plurality of pegs 18 extending from one surface of the body 19 thereof, and these are engaged in opening 20 of hangers 21 of each of the toothbrushes. Since each toothbrush is identical, the toothbrush 11 is shown in detail in Figures 2-11.

Typical toothbrush 11 has a handle 23 and a perforated closure cap 24 separably attached to the handle by being frictionally fitted therewith but preferably has a groove 25 to engage with ring 26 on the stud 27 at one end of handle 23. Handle 23 is elongate with a surface octagonal although other shapes and/or surface ornamentation can be used. The closure cap has a cavity 28 within which to accommodate the head 30 of the toothbrush. The head has a backing 31 from which tufts 32 as an extension of bore .35 to register passageway 37 with chamber 40 in the handle '23 of the toothbrush; Nozzle 41 is at the opposite end of the passageway and is made. of rubber or synthetic resinous material. It is inset or otherwise attached'to the backingandhas an axis of discharge approximatelwparallel tothe tufts of bristles. The internal construction of the nozzle 41 is seen in Figure 8 and includes a small diameter bore 43 registered with passageway 37 and registered with a venturi 44 that opens in the region of the bristles tufts to discharge toothpaste thereon,

Chamber 4! is adapted to contain toothpaste, and-the chamber is charged through inlet port or opening 46 in the sidewallof the handle. Slide valve 47 consisting of a'slide having a groove '48 between the upper and lower sections' thereof, is slidable between the valve-open and valve-closed positions; The slide valve is constrained in its travel by being; connected with guide 49, the latter consisting of a small pl-atehauing a center raised part with -aslot 50 in it. The groove 48 isenga-ged with the walls definingslot 50-so that the travel of the slide valve is constrained'by-the shapeofthe slot.

'Fhemeansfor feeding the toothpaste are seen best in 4; Theyrconsist of screw '51 having a reduced pintle 52 at one end and mounted for rotation in a of -openi'ngs53 and 54, opening -53 being in part 27 of the handle while opening '54 a small depending flangoSS that extends partial-1y across chamber 49 near stud Screw 51' has a piston 56 thereon; thepi'ston made of a "57 and 'pi's'tonhead58, the latter having a boss'59 through which: an internally threaded-opening is formed. The internal thread'sof the opening in boss are-nengaged with the threads of screw 51st); that when the screw is: rotated, the piston is moved; axially theEsereW; much-in. the natureof anut; Thepiston cannot rotate imchanrb'er- 40. since screw is: laterally displaced from thelongitudinazlaxis-of chamber- 41]; and there is a compressible disk 60 attached, for instance by rivets 61, to the head 58 of the piston. The disk is of sufiicient size to reasonably tightly contact the inner surface of the side walls of chamber 40 and also seal the threads of screw 51.

The outer end of the toothbrush handle has a closure plate 63 inset in it and held in place by threaded clamp ring 64 engaged with a threaded end of the handle 23. Matching slots 23 and lugs 63 on handle 23 and plate 63 engage when the plate 63 is mounted at the end of chamber 40. Vent 64 is in plate 63 to prevent the forming of a vacuum behind the piston 56. Passage 65 extends through plate 63 and has a non-threaded part or shank 66 of the screw mounted for rotation therein. Seal 67 is on part 66 of the screw and is disposed in a small well in closure plate 63. Shank 66 has a noncircular end 68 on which knob 69 is fitted to facilitate rotation of screw 51. A brake 70 is operatively connected with the knob 69, and is composed of a plurality of groups of short teeth 71 spaced circumferentially by longer teeth 72. A spring finger 73 having one end 74 (Figure 4) anchored in a small opening in plate 63, has its other end in'contact with teeth 71 and 72. A reaction pin 75 is attached to plate 63 and bears against a substantially V-shaped part of spring 73 to provide a reaction against which the spring functions when the knob 69 is turned. Finger or thumbnail grip 70' in the form of a grooved plate, is fixed to the finger 73 to release the brake for disassembly or to enable the piston to be returned to start and permit refill from any supply of toothpaste e.g.- a pressure can or tube. The brake 70 prevents any motion of the screw 51 unless a positive force is applied in the proper direction to rotate the screw and feed a charge of toothpaste, the size of the charge determined by the number of clicks when knob 69 is turned.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A fountain toothbrush comprising a hollow handle having a toothpaste storage chamber, a brush head having a backing and an externally threaded shank, said hollow handle having an end wall, an internally threaded bore extending through said end wall, said externally threaded shank threadedly engaged in said bore, a continuous passageway through said backing and shank, a passageway in said end wall terminating in said chamber communicating with said continuous passageway, a nozzle carried by said backing, said brush having bristles in the region of which said nozzle opens, a piston in said chamber, said piston including a flexible disk having outer edges flush with the walls of the storage chamber, an eccentrically positioned boss on said piston, an internally threaded opening in said boss, a screw, means eccentrically and rotatably retaining said screw in said chamber, said screw threadedly engaged in said opening in said boss, an aperture in said flexible disk aligned with said piston boss opening for receiving said screw to prevent seepage therearound, said means retaining said screw including a depression in said end wall, a reduced pintle on said screw rotatably received in said depression, said hollow housing externally threaded at an end remote from said brush head, a flanged closure plate partially received in said hollow housing, said flange of said closure plate abutting said housing, an internally threaded clamp ring threadedly engaged with said externally threaded end of said housing overlying and retaining said closure plate, an aperture in said closure plate passing the end of said screw remote from said pintle therethrough, said end of said screw having a square cross section, a knob having a square aperture received on said screw, said knob having a plurality of spaced circumferentially positioned teeth thereon, a leaf spring secured to said closure plate extending into contact with said teeth for preventing rotation of said knob in one direction only, a reaction pin extending from said closure plate and engaging said spring for urging said spring into contact with said teeth, and a thumbnail grip in the form of a grooved plate fixed to said spring to facilitate disengagement of said spring and teeth.

v 2. A fountain toothbrush comprising a hollow handle having a toothpaste storage chamber, said hollow handle having an apertured end wall, a brush head having a passageway therethrough carried by said handle, said aperture communicating said passageway with said chamber, a screw rotatably retained in said chamber, a piston threadedly and eccentrically carried by said screw for movement through said chamber, said screw having a square end, a knob having a square aperture received on said screw, an apertured closure plate passing said screw mounted on one end of said hollow handle adjacent said knob, said knob having a plurality of spaced circumferentially positioned teeth thereon, a leaf spring secured to said closure plate extending into contact with said teeth for preventing rotation of said knob in one direction'only, a reaction pin extending from said closure plate and engaging said spring for urging said spring into contact with said teeth, and a thumbnail grip in the form of a grooved plate fixed to said spring to facilitate disengagement of said spring and teeth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 968,186 McCardle et al. Aug. 23, 1910 1,047,878 Avery Dec. 17, 1912 1,336,390 Sargery et al A r. 6, 1920 1,644,173 Carr Oct. 4, 1927 1,711,183 Smith Apr. 30, 1929 1,944,067 Collins Jan. 16, 1934 2,018,158 Violette Oct. 22, 1935 2,033,197 Kinkade Mar. 10, 1936 2,041,024 Rueger May 19, 1936 2,632,904 Halecky Mar. 31, 1953 2,774,981 Bonilla Dec. 25, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 361,140 Great Britain Nov. 19, 1931 433,724 France Jan. 15, 1912 

